Editing KSGU:Volume 4 Chapter 1 (section)

===Part 5===

The group got off the linear car that reached its destination and got on the elevator leading to the residential area. As he felt the unique feeling of his abdominal muscles, the elevator descended 800m, sending Banagher’s group to the gravity block of the “Palau”.

The group did not head for the city located within the walls, but went through the lobby and head for another underground passage. It looked to be a service route for work as they passed through many gates that were defended by armed guards. As Zinnerman and Marida quickly moved on, Banagher inadvertently stopped to look past the other side of the gate.

The pillars supporting the roads had become round ones with cravings, and the walls had a grassy green fabric with Arabian patterns hanging off them. The worn out wall lights lit the red carpet that was laid all over the place. Waiting at the end was the large archway-shaped doors were two soldiers dressed in khaki uniforms, a short mantle, and wide rimmed helmets, giving an aged feeling. They were the same as the Republic of Zeon soldiers that were thought in history textbooks. The remnants of a defeated country, what looked like dead souls of soldiers that escaped a war museum were looking back at Banagher.

Zinnerman stood in front of the door, wearing a black shirt with gold laces. The Zeon soldiers gave a salute, and swiftly opened the door. The space acting as the staff room, which may be too big, appeared behind the door, causing Banagher to gasp a second time. The ceiling inside should be around 2 levels tall, and the 4 round pillars had spiral shaped carvings. There was an oil painting hanging above the electric heater that seemed to be for heating purpose <--!Didn’t make this up-->, and the curtains draped on both left and right sights gave a solemn feeling that was hard to tell if they were antiques. The unevenness of the teeth-shaped ornaments could be seen on the beam, and even the ceiling lights cover had similar carvings that showed the delicate skill of the craftsman. All the furniture showed some form of balance, and yet showed a luxury that one might mistake to be nobility in a palace.

Despite looking antique, it had no semblance to past designs. Banagher was overwhelmed by this scene that could only be described as Zeonism as he remained stunned. The Vist family too had an antique feel, but it was different. If the Vist family’s scene could be described as being based on luxury, this would give goosebumps while looking like it was meant to intimidate others. It looked to be an expression of culture by the people sent from Earth to the furthest Side, made after they got over their self-defeat—as they lost the Republic, they could only live in the dusty-smelling depths of the caves, a sand habitat that was like a flash in the pan. Banagher did not feel fear or uneasy, just weird as he stared at the anomaly sitting right in front of him.

That man was wearing a red uniform, wearing a mask as he faced Banagher. ''Is he a human?'' This was the first impression Banagher had. He could not detect any sense of lift from that man, not just from the mask covering his eyes, but also the vibe that he was artificially created. He stared at the masked man who sat on the Mahogany made office table, and seriously thought that it might really be part of the decorations in the room. However, that man said “I admit, this is not in good taste.”, shocking him.

“The superintendent of this “Palau” is a supporter of the old Zeon republic. Our army did not request anything from him when we regrouped, but he built this command post. It’s said that he replicated the interior decorations final base of the old republic army—A Baoa Qu.”

It was hard to tell if it was the mask talking in front of Banagher, as that was a slightly chilly voice. The masked man continued as he stared at the silent Banagher, “You have to accept other people’s kind intentions honestly.”

“Although it doesn’t actually fit my tastes, I think it is also one of the required qualities of a leader.”

Before Banagher could respond, the stare went through the anti-glare filter and stared right at Zinnerman’s group. “It’s been tough on you, Captain. You do not have to accompany us here.” On hearing this, Zinnerman answered, “Yes, Captain Full Frontal.” His heavy voice echoed through the room.

Full Frontal…Banagher stared back at this masked man as Zinnerman and Marida walked out of the room. He heard of this name before. Banagher had an impression of this name being mentioned by someone on the Nahel Argama when he hurriedly launched out. ''The Red Comet, the Man called the Second Coming of Char—that’s right, it’s the pilot of that red mobile suit. That Char who appeared on the news during the Republic era too used a mask to cover his face…''

“What is it? Please take a seat.”

The unexpectedly earnest voice came from below the mask, causing Banagher’s mind to rid itself of its arranged thoughts. He resisted the urge to get up as he sat on the sofa beside the heater. A young soldier wearing a white servant uniform immediately closed in and poured red tea into the teacup on the table. As the servant left without looking at him, Banagher sensed that there was another stare looking at him.

It was a young officer standing beside Frontal. Despite wearing a bright green uniform, his sense of presence was covered by the masked man, and Banagher did not notice him…or rather, perhaps he was deliberately trying to keep a low profile as she stood beside. Either way, the stare on Banagher was exceptionally tight when compared to Frontal’s, intimidating Banagher a little. The servant walked out of the room, and the ones left to talk to were him and Frontal. Banagher felt that he was giving a very imposing stare from a corner.

Right beside him, Frontal did not say anything. He put his arms on the table, locking his fists and using them to support his chin, giving a machine-like stare at Banagher. Banagher could not tell where the stare was looking from under the mask, and instead of being fearful, he wanted to know what kind of people they were, and how they intended to deal with him. ''If I keep waiting for them to talk, I’ll be devoured by the pressure under the mask.'' Banagher  looked down at the floor once, wiped the sweat on his hands off his knees, and decided to ask, “Excuse me…”

“Are you the man piloting that red mobile suit?”

The young officer quickly narrowed his eyes, and Frontal’s lips showed a smile.

“What will you do if I say you were? Are you unable to have tea with an opponent you fought before? Young Banagher Links.”

With a voice of ridicule, the observer’s stare cling onto him. Banagher understood that his body was being probed, and reacted as his trembling hand reached for the red tea and put it to his lips. He could not taste the flavor or aroma, and even the heat. “Good response.” Frontal’s voice could be heard clearly.

“However, you never considered the consequences. This is the nature of a pilot.”

Frontal casually got up and got closer to Banagher, whose stare was robbed by the lush blond hair while being distracted by the rose in a vase, the only decoration on the table. Up till now, the red rose had been swallowed by the presence of the Red Comet. In this room that was covered with artificial things, this was a blood-colored flower that asserted life…

“I’m Captain Full Frontal. I’m grateful for what you did for Her Highness Mineva. This invitation might be a little violent, so please forgive me for this.”

Frontal stood in front of Banagher and reached his right hand out, while Banagher hurriedly look back at him. He was about to inadvertently respond to Frontal, only to clench his hand that was about to reach out. ''No, I can’t let him get his way.'' Banagher felt a pulsating pain from his temples as he said cautious, “It might be rude to ask, but may I ask if that mask is really used for hide a wound?”

Frontal showed an unexpected expression on his lips as he put his hand. The young officer over his shoulder gave a more menacing glare, and Banagher looked up at the eyes under the mask.

“If that’s not the case, I hope to see your face.”

“You bastard…!” The young officer muttered as he stepped forward, but Frontal raised his hand to stop him.

“It’s alright, Lieutenant Angelo. Young Banagher is talking about some basic etiquette.”

The young officer called Angelo stopped in his tracks. The stare under the anti-glare filter stared back at Banagher, who took the stare from the person taller than him while exerting strength in his nearly limp knees.

“This might be considered part of a fashion statement. I might say it can be considered a method of propaganda.”

As he said this, the hands covered by the white gloves reached for the mask. ''Ah.'' As Banagher thought this way, Frontal simply removed the mask.

The clear blue eyes first entered his eyes, and then, the old scars at the middle of his eyebrows was etched his stare. The nose bridge that formed a nice line was not repulsive, giving a nice tension that those young people of Caucasian ethnicity would have. The only thing outstanding was that the cheekbones did not reflect his age, but this may be a thought after comparing the image of Char Aznable in photos. Basically, there were no actual signs of flaws, and Banagher swallowed the saliva after forgetting to do so as he faced this handsome face that could not be described simply as proper looking.

“I forgot to take it off because no one would honestly say it out like you. My apologies.”

This time, Frontal put his mask under the armpit and reached his hand out again. This time, there was no reason to refuse as Banagher held on his again. The hand under the glove felt rather hard, causing Banagher to remember the first impression of a puppet he had in his mind, but this may be because of the bad feelings he had when he ended up caught in the other party’s pace. Banagher decided to control himself as he held back from thinking further.

“I heard you met Her Highness Mineva.”

Frontal stepped back towards his table, and spoke, “However, as for how the mobile suit of the Vist Foundation…the “Unicorn” was handed to you, there’s still a lot I don’t understand. That was a machine our army should receive, so why did Cardeas Vist choose you to carry the Laplace Box…”

“I said it before. I don’t know any specifics in this.”

Banagher supported his body that was questioned out of a sudden as he said while seemingly interrupting the other party’s words. Frontal put his mask on the table and turned to Banagher, asking as he sat on the chair, “Is that so?”

“The Vist Foundation managed to maintain its prosperity and riches as they secretly kept the Box. There must be a plan that could not be changed easily for the Vist Foundation to break the negotiation with the Federation government. The initial plan was messed up, but it’s hard to believe that Cardeas would hand the Box over to a random passer-by. It’s natural to view you as someone related to the Foundation in someone, like for example…”

Frontal did not let go of the moment when Banagher inadvertently looked up, narrowed his eyes and continued, “Let’s say, you already were someone related to the Vist family…how about that?”

“Do I have a duty to answer?”

Banagher blurted out these words as his heart suddenly raced. Sharp footsteps could be heard as the young officer called Lieutenant Angelo walked towards Banagher. His hand suddenly reached for Bangher’s chest without warning.

His expression showed no signs of the old poker face as he showed real killing intent. In his old hometown, Banagher often saw people with some random problems showing such an expression out of a sudden as their faces overlapped with this young officer. As he felt this icy feeling from the bottom of his heart, Frontal interjected, “I said to stop it, Angelo.”

The tense-looking brows forced out wrinkles as he finally let go of Banagher grudgingly. His back was turned at Banagher, showing no signs of openings, and his footsteps obviously looked like he trained in this, but not enough to wipe off the first impression Banagher had of him—that he had a very bad background. Frontal waited for Angelo to return behind him, and silently continued, “You don’t have a duty to answer.”

“However, we still want information on the Box. It’s because of the factor that is Her Highness Mineva that we’re asking you in such a gentle manner. I hope you remember this.”

It was an obviously threatening line, and one that could give a chill. Banagher clenched his sweaty hands and answered, “That Mineva…Audrey once told me.”

“She said that the Box must not be handed over to Neo Zeon, or there’ll be another great war.”

“Oh.” Frontal merely continued without wavering, “If we consider what happened at “Industrial 7”, I would have the same feeling as he.” Banagher got up and tried to argue back.

“She’s the Princess of Zeon, right? If Audrey argues against it, why are you…”

“Then, do you believe in the existence of the Laplace Box?”

This was a question Banagher had never thought of. Frontal stared at the speechless Banagher as he gradually continued,

“Do you feel that no one had saw and validated the contents of the Box, whether it had the power to topple the Federation government?”

“Well…I don’t know. But I think there’ll be something like knowledge or information that could cause the world’s balance to collapse.”

“For example?”

“Like for example…how Zeon first let a space colony fall, or how they destroyed an asteroid and sent it to Earth to force it to freeze. It’s nothing after hearing it, but who would have expected such things to happen? The invention of nukes, and the horrifying wars that happened in the old ages…and it’s the same for the development of Minovsky Particles and mobile suits. They’re right beside us, yet no one noticed. A little invention or discovery will allow the world’s balance to change slightly…

Banagher did think of saying this when he was with Audrey before this, but even he was shocked that he could express himself so fluidly like this. “Correct.” Frontal again got up from his seat after concluding.

“This isn’t something that can be understood by memorizing a timeline. From the way you explain things, you should know that Spacenoids were once part of the civilian abandonment plan, right?”

An unexpected line was tossed right back at Banagher, causing him to answer back with only silence. Frontal left the office and walked with a stroll-like pace as he closed in on Banagher.

“In the past, Zeon Deikun once said that only those people who came to space could head for innovation. This meant that humanity got used to its environment and evolved…Newtypes. To the bureaucrats who sending the leftover population to space and remained on Earth, this thinking itself basically toppled their standpoint. That’s why they suppressed Zeonism and Side 3 that was promoting it. This is an example of what you say can cause the world to topple.”

The boots let out a tapping sound on the floor as he got behind Banagher, who was unable to turn behind.

“In the end, Zeon was assassinated, and the Zabi family rose up from it to build the Republic of Zeon. They chose to fight back the Federation government’s suppression with force. The ‘inventions’ of mobile suits and colony drop fighting was the result of the power given to Zeon Republic to match the Federation. Humanity lost half its population, but it could be seen as a deliberate reduction in population Gihren Zabi planned when he used racism to replace Zeonism.

Everyone knew right now that Zeon was killed by the Zabi family’s treachery. The Zeon Republic had such a crime, and after a year’s war, it fell defeated. However, this helped the Federation’s call, causing the Earth Central Administration to expand every day. The people who step into space would not be allowed back on Earth without the government’s permission. Despite each Side’s autonomous rule being recognized, the authority of the leaders were still held by the Central government. Spacenoids had basically no right to take part in politics when they could not elect the Senate Council. During this time, Earth continued to develop again under the name of recovering from the war, and 2 billion residents lived on space produce and food. In the end, the tens of billions of Spacenoids who were forced to migrate in order to let Earth recover naturally were still accomplices in destroying Earth.”

Frontal got behind Banagher as he said while sticking close to his nick. Banagher felt goosebumps by this jolt that basically felt like it was melting his body.

“Our Neo Zeon do have believers in the Zabi family’s customs. Some believed in Zeon Deikun’s ideals, and dreamed of building a real Republic of Zeon. However, their common goal is to change this twisted system. To break the shackle of the Federation, to fulfill self-autonomy for Spacenoids, we should—“

“BUT TERRORIST ATTACKS AREN’T TO GO!”

Banagher stopped the voice that was seeping through his pores as he yelled, “NO MATTER WHAT KIND OF LOGIC IT IS, IT’S NOT RIGHT TO ROB OTHER PEOPLE OF THEIR LIVES ONE-SIDEDLY. NO ONE HAS THAT RIGHT!”

He remembered that none of Micott’s friends were left alive, not even a fingernail as they were turned into dust, and their ugly corpses caused Banagher to puke. And then, there was that man—Cardeas Vist’s cooling blood. He felt these sensations that were still on his palms ''I’m not wrong here,'' Banagher told himself. ''Humans should live like humans and die like humans. I definitely can’t allow for other people to cut other people’s lives down like that.'' As he repeated this in his heart, Frontal’s presence near the neck left, and asked another question to make him doubt, “Then, what about you who fight with a Gundam?”

“If all military forces are full of guilt, you’re the same for using the “Gundam”. Because of you, we lost one of our precious soldiers.”

“Because of you…?”

Banagher was pushed away by an invisible hand as he felt that he tripped and missed his footing. “It was a stray shot, but you’re the one who shot it. This fact will not change.” Frontal continued as he walked back to the table. His back looked rather distorted, and Banagher felt that he was sliding into a bottomless abyss that opened below his feet as he merely stood there blankly. ''What is he saying? When did it happen? I didn’t feel that I hit any enemy suits. I was just squeezing the trigger in a mindless manner.''

''This me here, killed a person…''

“Call Zinnerman in.”

Frontal’s voice sounded rather distant. Banagher sensed that Angelo was picking up the internal phone, but his body and mind could not move. ''I have to think. I have to think of something before I’m swallowed into this bottomless abyss. '' The more he got anxious, the more his thoughts got erratic, and he knew that his fingertips were becoming cold and stiff. This shell called Banagher Links was collapsing, gradually becoming something else—

“You still have lots to learn. I hope you’ll understand more about us. After that, I’ll be grateful if you can become of outstanding assistance to us.”

Frontal said. He picked up the mask on the table, and seemingly at that moment, Zinnerman and Marida entered the room. ''Are both of them gasping because they just saw Frontal’s true appearance?'' A slight electric wave passed through Banagher’s mind as he wanted to turn to the duo behind him, but was unable to do move. During this time, he could tell that Marida’s arm was reaching for his shoulder, forcing him to turn back, and his rooted feet finally managed to take a step.

Banagher was dragged off like this as he was accosted to the archway-shaped doors. Right before he was about to pass it, it stopped, and turned back to look at Frontal at the table. He ignored Marida’s surprised stare as she stopped, and let out a hoarse voice, “Excuse me…”

“Are you Char Aznable?”

Zinnerman, who was standing beside him, frowned as he turned his stare to Frontal. Angelo shot a menacing glare to Banagher for a moment, only to turn his awaiting stare at the owner of the mask. Even Banagher himself was not sure why he asked such a thing. However, his thought of deciding things based on the response had not changed as he stared at Frontal who already had his mask on. Frontal focused his stare on the lone flower on the table,

“The me now stipulates myself as a vessel.”

“Vessel…?”

“This vessel here is used to carry the thoughts of the people who were abandoned into space, and inherit the grand wish of those who inherit Zeonism. If they hope for it, I’ll become Char Aznable. This mask exists for that.”

Frontal lifted his stare that was covered by the anti-glare mask and looked back at Banagher. The earnest expression was looking back at him, and for a short moment, he lost his voice. However, a mask was a mask, not a true face. ''Perhaps I might not have seen the true appearance of this man?'' Banagher recalled the beautiful blue eyes, and felt that he was following an illusion as he lost all strength to talk and walked out of the room.

Banagher glanced behind before the doors closed. The lips under the mask seemed to be smiling at the lone flower. The bright rose and Angelo’s heinous face showed a refreshing feeling beside the mask.